Dark Forests
by jazzykitty76
Summary: Levy Mcgarden and her best friend Lucy Heartfillia are about to go on the biggest adventure of their lives. Along with them goes the most infuriating man Levy has ever met. A man who calls himself Gajeel. They travel together and run into another man. A man with pink hair. Together they will realize forests are darker than they thought. T for now.
1. Chapter 1

**_Hey friends! I know I haven't posted anything in like forever, but that's because a lot of things came up in my personal life and I'm just now sort of getting things together. Anyways, this is an idea that's been bouncing around in my head for a while and I'm just starting to get it out on paper (Laptop). It's based on the prompt about the world being mostly covered in unexplored forest and cities on oceans and stuff. And keep in mind that I haven't edited this and there are sure to be some mistakes. Message me or leave a nice comment and I'll do my best to fix it. Please review and favorite!_**

Magnolia is a beautiful city located in the country of Fiore. It's peaceful, surrounded on all sides by sparkling water and in the distance, the city's people can just barely see the looming trees of the Deep Forest. Some people find it beautiful, others ominous, but Levy Mcgarden finds it fascinating. How could she not? A place unexplored and dangerous, but also full of unparalleled possibilities. Undiscovered plants that could possibly be the cure to diseases. Extinct animals from the legends and myths might actually still be alive and thriving in the untamed wilderness! There is so much to learn and explore out there and she could be the first to document a multitude of new things. She could spend her whole life out there and barely scrape the surface. Yet, her plans to trek her way through the entirety of it has been suddenly been derailed.

"That stupid, bull-headed, idiot of a king!" Her best friend barks out as she paces their small apartment angrily. "I can't believe he turned down your grant!" Her feet strike the floor beneath her, a rough staccato with every step. The windows shake with the force of her furious march and if they didn't, they would from the expression on her face. Even Levy, the indirect cause of her anger, feels a slight flash of apprehension when the blonde turns around a little too quickly in her direction.

Lucy was strong. She wouldn't be one of the top female kickboxers in Magnolia if she wasn't. Most of her competitors fear her dreaded "Lucy Kick" most of all and Levy can understand why. She recently saw Lucy's opponent go flying through the air, over the ring, and into the middle of the audience completely unconscious. Thankfully she had never been on the receiving end of it and knew she never would be, but seeing something like that is a little unnerving.

"Lucy," Levy began, messing with the bandana in her messy blue hair. "We knew that there was a small chance, even in the beginning, that the king would give me the grant; just like we know how dangerous it is to try to explore the Deep Forest. There's a reason why only a few miles of it has been explored. Why pay to let a five-foot girl kill herself trying to trek her way through it?" She says reasonably and almost sounds convinced herself... if it weren't for the fact that she's avoiding looking at the crumpled rejection letter on the coffee table.

The negative reply had come as a cruel shock. With her credentials from Magnolia Science Tech University and the research that she had already released from just exploring the Dark Forest's edge, she had hoped, expected really, for at least a little bit of financial support. Instead, nothing. No explanation or any sort of apology. Just a curt, big in her face, no.

"But it's your DREAM, Levy! How can you give up this easily?" Lucy stopped her furious advance and turns her face toward her bluenette friend with a look of frustration. "I don't understand! You've been talking about this since we were kids! You've been preparing for years and all the sudden you just… Why am I the only one angry about this?"

Bitter, burning tears fill Levy's russet eyes and she wipes furiously at her face as they overflow down her cheeks. "You really think I'm not upset? I am! but I can't let this discourage me. I'm not quitting. This isn't the end. It can't be." Levy glances at her ragged, chewed on fingernails to organize the thoughts bouncing around her mind. "I didn't get a grant. That doesn't mean that this is it; it just makes things a little more difficult."

Her mind races a million miles a minute. How does she explore the Deep Forest without money for supplies? Maybe she could go by herself? That would reduce the costs, but she's not really capable of carrying everything that she needs without at least one other person. And it wouldn't be safe. Not at all.

Lucy's fury is gone almost immediately at the sight of Levy's tears. With how steadfast her short friend usually is, seeing her cry is a rare and cold slap to Lucy's anger. Levy has always been the rational one and has kept the blonde out of trouble her whole life. Lucy wouldn't be where she is now without her and she couldn't ask for a better best friend. She should be there for Levy, not taking her frustrations out on her.

"What are you thinking?" She asks and hands Levy a box of tissues before heading off to the kitchen, hunting up a couple bowls of ice cream and a bottle of Chardonnay. (The pair's usual remedy for an upsetting situation.)

"I'm not sure yet." Levy leans back against the couch with a sigh. "The biggest issue is the money of course and also finding people willing to go into the forest with me at all. I was hoping to focus on the finding people part after getting the grant, but maybe I should focus on it now. They might be able to help me get an idea of how much money I actually need."

Barely thirty minutes have passed since the mail was delivered bringing the news, but she feels drained, exhausted really. Each minute that has passed feels like twenty and thinking about everything that she has to do only makes it worse.

"I actually heard something the other day," Lucy's disembodied voice remarked from the freezer. "There's someone who's claimed to have gone twenty miles deep." Her voice is full of admiration as she recounts the rumor.

Levy, weariness forgotten, jumps to her sock covered feet, nearly tripping/sliding into the kitchen. "Are you serious right now?!" She yells.

"Yeah," Lucy remarks. "I was gonna tell you, but you were really busy the day I heard and I guess it slipped my mind. They call him "Black Steel" Gajeel."


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey, Y'all! This is a shorter chapter, but it needs to be in there. There was an important character that needed to be introduced and this was the best way I could think of to introduce him! Leave a review or message me or follow or really whatever you want! The creative juices are flowing so please expect another chapter within the next few days! Now, I forgot to say this last chapter, but I do not own fairy tail! Love Y'all! 3**

In the apartment Lucy and Levy share there are two rooms. There are two bathrooms. And there are two exits. One is the tall, winding fire escape and the other is a solid oak door. Thankfully, Levy has a slight fear of heights.

"You can't just run out into town and expect to find him out of the blue!" Lucy shifts her body more firmly against the front door, keeping the shorter girl in the apartment. "This isn't a Hallmark movie! Miracles don't just happen that way!"

Levy ignored the Blonde and grabbed at the doorknob, yanking futilely. There was no way she wasn't going to find him as soon as possible and she was gonna ask everyone in Magnolia if that's what it takes. He was her best chance, her only chance really, and she wasn't gonna let it slip through her fingers. He was the answer.

Levy, listen to me!" Lucy insisted. "You haven't even put on shoes! Where's your purse? Even if I was gonna let you go, which I'm not, you are totally unprepared! What happened to the person who always makes sure she has anything for every situation?"

"She was denied a grant!" Levy snaps in response. "She didn't get what she wanted so apparently she wasn't even prepared for that! So what does it matter if I don't bring my damn purse?" The bluenette turned around and stomped off to her room. She hated to admit it, but she really did need to put on shoes.

"It matters because I'm going to be making some calls to find out more for you and I might find him first. Actually, you should probably stay here and wait for me to find out some more information! We don't even know if he's still in Magnolia at this point." Lucy pointed out very logically and for a second she felt a thought pass through her mind. She thought that it was nice to be the smart one once in a while before quickly flinging it away. She was _not_ going to be taking that responsibility, thank you very much. She would stick to be the strong one. (Not that Levy was weak by any means, but she couldn't overpower Lucy in a fair physical fight.)

"Who are you planning on calling?" Levy reluctantly asked as she tightened the laces of her converse.

"I was thinking about calling Loke."

"Loke?" Levy cocked her head to the side.

"Oh, you probably know him by his professional name," Lucy realized. "His stage name is Leo the Lion. He's a professional MMA fighter. He's good enough that I wouldn't even dream about fighting him. Anyways, he was the one I heard the rumor from."

"... How did you even get to talk to him? I heard that "Leo the Lion" is a real _lion_ with the ladies." Levy might be really anxious about finding that "Black Steel" guy, but she would never pass up some good gossip when it involved her best friend. "Is there something that I need to know about?" She waggled her eyebrows teasingly

Lucy blushed and shook her head back and forth furiously. "I was asking for pointers after I saw that he watched my practice match with Cana. He gave me his number in case I wanted more advice. It was no big deal."

"You mean he was watching you before you even talked to him? _and_ he gave you his number? Sounds like he's interested to me!"

"Oh, hush!" Lucy turned even redder which really didn't seem possible as she neared a tomato like hue."Do you want me to call him or not?"

"Yes!" Levy brushed past her and plopped herself back on the couch, very obviously there to observe the said phone call.

Lucy took a deep breath to steady herself and sat next to the Bluenette. She brought out her phone and searched through her contacts until she got to his name. She pressed the call button.

"Loke? It's me, Lucy. Can I ask you something?"


End file.
